Business Edge pledges to help youth homelessness

Thank you Business Edge accountants, which will donate proceeds from upcoming business seminars to help young people who are experiencing homelessness.

The donation coincides with Homelessness Week and will be used by the Youth Team at Junction Support Services to assist young people in need across north-east Victoria with crisis accommodation and other support.

An award winning not-for-profit organisation, Junction assisted more than 550 people of all ages who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness across north-east Victoria in 2016-17.

Business Edge’s Business Development officer Celeste (pictured with Zach from Junction) said the Albury-based accounting firm was proud to use its upcoming business seminars to support local young people in need.

“It’s sad to know there are young people in our community who do not have a safe place to sleep and we’re pleased to be able to join with Junction Support Services to help them,” she said.

Zach, a youth worker with Junction, visited Business Edge to talk about youth homelessness and said most people were vulnerable to homelessness.

“All it takes is one major life event such as a car accident, illness or a sick child and it becomes hard to pay the mortgage or rent. Homelessness can happen to any of us,” he said.

“On behalf of all of us at Junction and our young clients I thank Business Edge for helping some of the most vulnerable young people in our community.”

The first of Business Edge’s Track Your Business to Success seminar will be held on Thursday 9 August, 12pm-1.30pm and more seminars will be held in October. Tickets are $15 and all proceeds will go to Junction Support Services. To register, visit edgea.com.au/events

Junction Support Services is extremely proud to have received two honours at the Albury Wodonga Business Awards – Employer of Choice and Excellence in Health, Education and Disability.

A not-for-profit organisation, Junction runs 28 programs across north east Victoria, ranging from counselling for children who have experienced trauma such as family violence, to Out of Home Care for young people who cannot live with their families or in foster or kinship care, homelessness support for people of all ages and assistance for young parents.

The Albury Wodonga Business Awards were held in front of 400 people at Albury Entertainment Centre on 13 July.

In accepting the awards, Committee of Management member Sherril Hodgens thanked the judges, congratulated all finalists on great work in the community, thanked Business Wodonga and Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce and the award sponsors APM Employment Services and Don Cameron & Associates.

“I’d like to dedicate the Health, Education and Disability award to the 150 young people supported back into education over the past two years and the Employer of Choice award to the 150 staff and 70 volunteers who make Junction a great place to work,” Sherril said.

“This is wonderful recognition that Junction Support Services is and has been a positive presence in our community since our work began in 1989,” she said.

“Our staff are passionate, resourceful and dedicated to supporting clients to achieve good outcomes.

“To receive the Employer of Choice award two years in a row is a tribute to the work that has been done over a long time to provide strong support and wellbeing for our staff, who do challenging work.”

The Excellence in Health, Education and Disability award recognised work across the entire organisation to support clients to achieve their full potential, in particular work to re-engage young people in education and training through an innovative partnership between a not-for-profit organisation and the education sector.

•Junction Support Services runs the Navigator program in Ovens Murray to re-engage young people with a less than 30 per cent school attendance rate to re-engage with school

•Last year, Junction joined with Wodonga Secondary College and Wodonga Middle Years colleges to keep the doors open at Highwater alternative school at Gateway Village and turn it into Choice Learning – a transition environment that has increased student numbers 300 per cent

•Junction has four wellbeing officers at Wodonga Senior Secondary and Wodonga Middle Years colleges

•Junction proudly runs the STARS program in local primary schools

The Employer of Choice award, which Junction also won in 2017, recognised:

•Excellent working conditions and strong support for staff

•Flexible work arrangements

•A strong focus on training and education with each team member having a minimum $500 or 50 hours for training

The Red Carpet Youth Awards are for 14- 24 year olds who work, study or live in Wodonga.

The Youth Ambassador Award is chosen from the category winners and is a young person who shows outstanding dedication to the community and demonstrates the community’s values in all aspects of their life.

This may be demonstrated through:

Being a positive leader and role model within the community

Volunteering to help others

Demonstrating true dedication and passion to their cause, whether it be in the workplace, through community service, be overcoming personal difficulties or serving and empowering others

Positively affecting the community

The awards were launched on 19 April at a breakfast in Junction Square and will be announced at a gala event on Friday 3 August.

Did you know that every night an estimated 28,000 young Australians between 12-25 are homeless? In most cases, these young people have left home to escape family violence, child abuse and family breakdown.

Wednesday 18 April was Youth Homelessness Matters Day, a campaign to raise awareness and put the spotlight on young people at risk of homelessness or who are experiencing homelessness.

We’ve been supporting people experiencing homelessness since 1989 when our work began with one program in Wangaratta.

Today , we are the leading youth homelessness agency in Wodonga and we run a Youth Refuge proving emergency accommodation, helps young people get back on track and either get back home or learn the skills to live on their own and secure permanent accommodation.

In 2016-17 our youth refuge supported 27 young people.

We also provide Out of Home Care to about 25 young people across north-east Victoria who cannot live with their families or in foster or kinship care and then Leaving Care support and mentoring to those young people when they leave the State Care system upon turning 18.

Unfortunately, young people who are leaving the State Care system are among those at greatest risk of homelessness.

Some of the participants in the Community Walk Against Family Violence. Photo: Mark Jesser. Courtesy Border Mail.

More than 150 people took part in the inaugural Wodonga Community Walk Against Family Violence that was held as part of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

Junction Support Services were proud to join the Department of Health and Human Services and the Salvation Army to organise the walk, which was supported by Wodonga Police and more than 20 local oganisations, agencies, schools and members of the community.

The walk started outside St Stephen’s Uniting Church, headed down High Street and finished in Junction Place with a free barbecue cooked by Wodonga Rotary.

Junction Support Services Family and Children’s Specialist Services Acting Manager Claire Anderson, says family violence has a huge impact on our clients and many Junction staff walked on the day.

“We see the lifelong effects that family violence has on people, especially young people who then have relationship issues or see violence as a solution to conflict. Each year, our Family and Children’s Specialists Services team, counsel more than 180 children who have experienced trauma – the majority of it from witnessing family violence.”

Speakers at Junction Place included Sgt Mick Bourke from Wodonga Police, Salvation Army Capt Christine Abram and Junction’s Tim Wallis.

Tim read an account by a local young man of his experience growing up surrounded by family violence and how it has shaped him:

As a boy growing up, I saw and heard my parents fighting with each other, both verbally and physically. I thought this was normal behaviour between parents and while I and my siblings tried to stop the fighting, it often felt like there was nothing we could do to prevent it. Nobody ever said to us this was Family Violence.

As a teenager, I haven’t really cared what happened to me… I’ve never actually physically assaulted a woman but I’ve spoken to them in a disrespectful manner by screaming at them, calling them disgusting names and using them. I’d like to have a serious relationship in the future but I’m scared I might turn out to be like my parents. Now I know that what I grew up with was Family Violence, and it’s not normal or how it’s supposed to be.

Thank you to the following organisations for taking part in the 2017 Community Walk Against Family Violence:

Triple M’s Lu and Matt for walking and MCing the event
North East Water
Wodonga Police
Department of Health and Human Services
Salvation Army
City of Wodonga staff
Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre (YMCA Victoria)
Wodonga Senior Secondary College
headspace
Gateway Health
Local Bhutanese community
Department of Justice
Murray Primary Health Network
Centre Against Violence
Border Trust
Restart Albury Wodonga
Upper Murray Family Care
Hume Riverina Community Legal Service

We’re proud to be part of the City of Wodonga’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

We’re joining the Department of Health and Human Services and the Salvation Army to hold a Community Walk Against Family Violence on Wednesday 6 December.

Please join us at 11am outside St Stephen’s Church, corner Beechworth Rd and Nilmar Avenue, to walk down High Street and finish with a FREE barbecue in Junction Place at 12pm.

The walk is supported by Wodonga Police and St Stephen’s Church.

Can’t make it that day?

Our friends at Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre, which is operated by YMCA Victoria, are Cycling for Awareness on Thursday from 5.30am to 9.30pm They’re seeking riders to cycle for 10-minute slots so the centre can ride for 16 hours straight as part of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Find out more at wodonga.ymca.org.au

If you are seeking support or emotional assistance contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline 131114.

“Thank you Bunnings, T-Shirt World and Rachel! Thank you also to the City of Wodonga for staging this wonderful, free event for our community. We were proud to be part of it and we’ll be back bigger and better next year,” she says.

“Thank you to all our staff from Family and Children’s Services and Youth Services who volunteered their time in the lead up to the Fair and attended on the day.

“A special thanks to Bonnie the golden retriever, who works at our Wodonga office with her owner Lynn, supporting children and you people.”

Among our favourite annual activities organised by our Health and Wellbeing Committee is a “Wear your PJs to work Day”.

Our staff being the enthusiastic people they are, many take this a step further and decide to wear “onesies”, a one-piece outfit, instead of PJs.

This year, the dress up day raised money for our children’s programs.

“Team Onesie” staff dressed as tigers, a unicorn and a rabbit.

“Team PJs” included a male staff member who dressed in his wife’s PJs, silk polka dots (our CEO), and Bonnie the golden retriever who wore a PJ top.

Some time-poor staff dropped their children off at school and child care while dressed in PJs and novelty slippers.

Our Family and Children’s Services Manager Claire Anderson said: “We like to have fun at work but we take our work seriously. There is nothing we are more passionate about than out children’s programs.

“Our mission is to support people to achieve their full potential.

“Last year our family and children’s team counselled more than 180 local children who had experiences trauma such as domestic violence.”

About Us

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live, and recognise their continuing connection to the land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.